Google to reinstate banned YouTube accounts after Biden-era pressure

Google, whose parent company is Alphabet Inc., said Sept. 23 that it will reinstate accounts that the Biden administration “pressed” them to “remove” because of content related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a letter to House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, Alphabet Chief Counsel Daniel Donovon said the Biden administration “created a political atmosphere that sought to influence the actions of platforms based on their concerns regarding misinformation.”

“It is unacceptable and wrong when any government, including the Biden Administration, attempts to dictate how the Company moderates content,” Donovan wrote, “and the Company has consistently fought against those efforts on First Amendment grounds.”

Donovan said YouTube — which Google owns — will allow all creators back on the platform if they were removed “for repeated violations of COVID-19 and elections integrity policies that are no longer in effect,” calling it part of Alphabet’s “commitment to free expression.” 

The new policy could affect both average users and high-profile figures such as FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino, former White House counterterrorism adviser Sebastian Gorka, and “War Room” podcast host Steve Bannon, according to FOX News. 

Bongino, one of YouTube’s most-followed conservative personalities, was reportedly banned for questioning mask mandates. He ended his radio show earlier this year when he joined the Trump administration.

The company also acknowledged in its letter that conservative voices “have extensive reach and play an important role in civic discourse.”

The announcement comes amid public scrutiny of Biden-era censorship. Jordan pointed to a 2024 letter from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who said the administration “repeatedly pressured” Facebook to censor posts.

“I believe the government pressure was wrong, and I regret that we were not more outspoken about it,” Zuckerberg wrote in the letter dated Aug. 26, 2024.

In January, Meta dropped its “fact-checkers” in favor of a community notes system on Facebook and Instagram in an effort to “restore free expression,” CatholicVote reported.

In the Sept. 23 letter, YouTube vowed it “has not and will not empower fact-checkers to take action on or label content across the Company’s services.” Instead, in June 2024, it launched a feature similar to Meta’s community notes that lets users add context on videos. 

Alphabet also criticized European social media laws, warning they place a “disproportionate regulatory burden” on U.S. companies.